Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, one of the top Republicans focused on holding Big Tech companies accountable, is working with Democrats on an antitrust bill that would significantly boost supporters of bipartisan antitrust legislation in Congress.
Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is in talks to co-sponsor antitrust legislation with Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the chairwoman of the committee in charge of regulating tech giants such as Facebook and Google.
The legislation would complement similar bipartisan anti-Big Tech legislation, which is expected to be brought to the House floor in the coming months.
The House legislation, which passed the House Judiciary Committee in June, included six sweeping antitrust bills aimed at reining in tech companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. It marked Washingtons most significant and serious attempt to reshape the technology industry.
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"Senator Grassley has been engaged with Senator Klobuchar on a possible companion bill to one of the House bills," George Hartmann, a spokesman for Grassley, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "Senator Grassley is only working on one of the bills and has not agreed to cosponsor a bill at this point."
Grassley and Klobuchar have worked together on relevant antitrust legislation in the past, including a bill that passed the Senate in June providing antitrust enforcers, such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, additional resources when it comes to evaluating mergers.
Hartmann said strengthening antitrust laws and reducing anti-competitive practices in the business world, particularly among tech companies, has long been a priority for Grassley.
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is also interested in working on such legislation and is involved in talks with Klobuchar and Grassley, a spokesman for Cotton said. Other Republican senators are also said to be in negotiations to support a Senate antitrust bill, including Josh Hawley of Missouri, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Susan Collins of Maine, Politico reported.
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Similar to the House antitrust bills, bipartisan Senate legislation could receive opposition from members of both parties due to concerns it could harm innovation and result in unintended consequences to consumers.
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On the House side, many Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan of Ohio, oppose the antitrust package in their chamber, arguing they fail to address censorship of conservatives online.
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Tags: News, Policy, Economy, Big Tech, Chuck Grassley, Amy Klobuchar, Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, Senate Judiciary Committee, Antitrust
Original Author: Nihal Krishan
Original Location: Top Republican senator in talks with Democrats on anti-Big Tech antitrust bill
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